Flying out of Dubai

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The world’s longest flight is coming to the Caribbean.

It will be the longest flight to the Caribbean Basin when it launches next year. And the longest nonstop flight on earth.

United Arab Emirates carrier Emirates will be launching a new nonstop flight between Dubai and Panama City beginning Feb. 1, 2016.

The flight will be the longest nonstop flight on earth at 17 hours and 35 minutes, according to Emirates.

It will also provide a new gateway for Middle Eastern travelers to the wider Caribbean Basin, given the wide network of Panama-based air carrier Copa Airlines.

That gateway could prove increasingly vital as the Caribbean sees increased investment from the Middle East, particularly out of the UAE.

Above: the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Indeed, one of the leading hotels in the Caribbean development pipeline, the Park Hyatt St Kitts, is a

Range is also developing a Kempinski hotel in Dominica.

But the flight is also important as it marks Emirates’ first-ever flight to the Caribbean Basin, and could potentially mark the beginning of a wider expansion to the Caribbean.